Loving Lydia
by Somebody's Dark Angel
Summary: AU A daughter the result of a rape comes back
1. Part 1

Loving Lydia 

OK, another AU, Piper is Prue's _best friend_.  It's _really_ important that you remember that.  So Prue and Phoebe are sisters and Piper is their friend.  Piper's a year younger than Prue, but they were in the same grade at school.

The young girl curled up in pain. She couldn't handle this, she couldn't bear the pain, the sadness, the worry. She shook her head at the nurse, trying to stop her bringing the bundle. 

"I don't want it!" she cried. "I don't even like it!"

Her grandmother entered the room. "You've got to see her," she coaxed.

"I can't," the girl wailed. "Take it away!"

The nurse looked at her oddly, but the grandmother sighed, and took the bundle from the nurse.

"See, honey?" she asked her daughter, gently, showing her. "Isn't she cute?"

"No!" cried the girl. "She hurt me!"

"If you don't want her, at give her a name," the grandmother coaxed again.

"Fine," snapped her daughter. "Lydia."

"Lydia?" asked the nurse. "Isn't that a beautiful name?"

The girl curled up again, trying to block out the images of the attack, which had resulted in her unwanted child. She tried to block out the pain she had felt for the last nine months, and the sadness she now felt, when she didn't want the child. Everyone had expected her to fall in love with the baby when she saw it, but the girl hated Lydia even more than ever. She couldn't possibly keep her.

"Get rid of it!" howled the girl again.

"Oh, honey," sighed her grandmother, disappointed. "If that's what you really want."

"Yes," snapped the girl. "I never want to see her again. Never, Grams."

As the mother took the child away, the new mother broke down and cried. She didn't want the child, but she felt awful about turning it away. She had never imagined that her first child would be sent away the moment it was born. But then, she had never imagined that her first child would be born when she was fourteen, because she was raped.

At least now, she could forget about Lydia, and carry on with her life.

I will continue this if you like it. Try and guess who the girl is – it's Prue, Piper or Phoebe. Please review.


	2. Part 2

Loving Lydia, Part Two – A Face From the Past 

Remember, Piper is Prue's _best friend_.  You'll know why it's so important later.

It was eighteen years since the young woman had given up her baby daughter, and she never stopped thinking about her. She had hidden away from her friends and family at first, but had finally realised that hiding from the world was not the answer. She had to get on with her life, and forget about the attack, the unwanted child, the need to have another child that she would love, and the barely disguised disgust that her mother felt for her – a mother who didn't want her child.

It was her close circle of friends that helped her get on in life. They wouldn't let her be unhappy. Anyway, why would she want to be unhappy? Apart from Lydia, she had a wonderful life. She had some wonderful friends, a wonderful sister, and was married to the man of her dreams. Her name was Prue Trudeau.

On the day that would have been Lydia Halliwell's eighteenth birthday, Prue was in the manor with her husband Andy, her sister Phoebe, her best friend from high school Piper, and Piper's three-month-old baby daughter, Krissy. These were the only three people that knew about Lydia, and, knowing that it was her birthday, they'd all gathered together to make Prue feel better. Prue knew why they were doing it – they weren't exactly subtle – but she appreciated the gesture all the same. She loved her friends, and knew that they didn't want her to be sad about a baby she had abandoned eighteen years ago. It wasn't as if she'd even _liked_ Lydia. Lydia was a reminder of all the pain that the rape caused her. Lydia was the reason that she didn't sleep with anyone until she was twenty-two. Lydia had been a memory of everything bad in her life – all rolled into one little child, so innocent. It was like a bad metaphor.

Andy was watching a basketball game, and Prue, Phoebe and Piper were gossiping about Olivia Allan, one of their other friends, when there was a knock on the door.

Prue got up and answered it. Outside was a petite, dark-haired girl, with startling blue eyes. She was looking very uncertain about being there.

"A-are you Prue Halliwell?" she asked, tentatively.

"No, I'm Prue Trudeau," Prue replied, doubtfully. As the girl's face fell, she added, "But I was Prue Halliwell. Who are you?" she added. She didn't really want a stranger outside the manor, especially not a stranger who knew her name.

The doubtfulness on the girl's face was eclipsed by a sudden look of – was it? – happiness. She paused a moment before she spoke. Then, she said, in a very clear voice, "I'm Lydia Halliwell… Mom."

* * *

Lydia had never been certain about finding her birth mother, but when her adoptive parents, Jessica and Lloyd, had been killed in a car crash, three months ago, there had seemed little else to do. She had been seventeen, depending on Jess' sister, and didn't feel the need to be around her adoptive family any longer. She and Aunt Sylvie had never got on that well, and she wanted a better life. Who better to have a new life with than her real mother?

She had always known that her mother was called Prue Halliwell, and, through a hell of a lot of searching, had found out where Prue Halliwell lived. And now she was standing in front of her birth mother. The woman she had not seen since she was a few hours old.

* * *

"L-Lydia?" asked Prue, almost crying.

"Lydia," she confirmed. "I'm definitely, definitely Lydia Halliwell." She gasped as she realised how much she looked like her mother. 

"Ohmigod!" Prue _was_ crying now. "Andy?" she called. She saw Lydia's face change when Andy appeared, and put his arm around Prue. "Andy," she began, faltering slightly. "T-this girl, she says that – she says she's Lydia."

"Lydia _Halliwell_?" asked Andy, loudly enough for Phoebe and Piper to stand up and come to the door. They each had identical looks of shock on their faces.

"You're Lydia Halliwell?" asked Piper.

"Lydia Halliwell," she said, firmly. "I was abandoned by my mother when I was two hours old, and I was adopted three months later. My adoptive parents were called Jessica and Lloyd Thomas. They died three months ago in a car crash and I've lived with my aunt ever since. And today is my eighteenth birthday. Does that prove anything?"

"You're really Lydia," Prue whispered. _The innocent image of all the hurt and pain in my life_, she thought. _And she's standing here in front of me. A sixteen-year-old, responsible for all the hurt in my life, it's impossible. There's got to be a way I can forgive her._

"I, uh, we'd better go," Phoebe whispered to Piper, who nodded, and the two of them slipped quietly away, Piper holding Krissy. Prue was left alone with her husband and her daughter.

"Come in," Andy told Lydia. "Prue?" he murmured. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "J-just a bit shocked." Lydia was looking at them, so they went over, and sat down on the sofa, one on each side of Lydia.

"So," Andy began, trying to ease the tension. "I'm Prue's husband, Andy Trudeau."

"M-my stepfather?" asked Lydia.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Andy replied. _Wow! I'm a stepfather_, he thought. "And that was Prue's sister Phoebe that just went out the door – your aunt. And Piper's your –"

"I'm your mom," Prue said, faintly, cutting him off. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Is it good that I'm back?" Lydia queried, needing to know the answer. "You don't want me to go away again, do you?"

Prue paused. She couldn't take out all her hurt on her daughter. Her poor, abandoned daughter. "You – you can stay," she faltered. "For now. But, this, this isn't going to be easy for me – or you, I guess."

Lydia nodded. "I know. I just need to know my mom. I need to know that I have a mom." She hesitated. "And… can you tell me about you? And – my dad?"

"I-I guess," Prue replied. "But, I was raped, I wasn't going out with your dad."

"Did you know him?" asked Lydia, after taking this information in. Andy put his arm closer around Prue. "You don't have to, not if you don't want to, Prue," he whispered.

Prue sighed. "I – knew him. He-he was my best friend's dad. So, my friend Piper is your sister."

I bet no one guessed that Piper's dad was the father.  Please review!


	3. Part 3

Loving Lydia, Part Three 

Lydia stayed the night at Andy and Prue's. She was finding it hard to take in all of the information. So, she was born because her mom's best friend's dad raped her mom? The first question she had asked was: Does Piper know? The answer was a very firm 'No'. And she wasn't allowed to tell her, either. The only people that knew in the world were Prue, Andy, Piper's dad, and, now, Lydia.

"Does he know?" Lydia asked.

"No, I told everyone that I had a boyfriend," her mom replied. "A boyfriend who dumped me when he found out about the baby – you, I mean."

Andy sensed that Prue was not happy with the situation. "Why don't you tell us about your life, Lydia?" he asked. She nodded.

"Okay, so I was adopted by Jess and Lloyd when I was three months old. You know that, right?" She looked at her new parents.

"Yes," Prue nodded as she spoke. "They told me that."

"Right, and they adopted me because they couldn't have kids. I don't know why, but anyway…" she paused, wondering how to tell her story properly. "Okay, they told me from the start that I was adopted, because their other kids were adopted too – "

"You've got brothers and sisters?" asked Andy.

"There were five of us – Michelle, Zack, Felicity, Isabelle and me. Four girls, one boy, everyone used to say we were weird. Michelle's the eldest, and there were four years in between her and Isabelle – she's the baby."

"Big family," commented Prue. Andy glanced at her, but she didn't seem to be upset. She looked interested.

"Yeah, well, Felicity and Zack were twins, and Jess and Lloyd liked big families. So, I was the second oldest – younger than Michelle, and older than the rest. We all got on really well. We went to the same school, and we were really happy. I was closest to Michelle – there's only six months between us. We never called Jess and Lloyd Mom and Dad, though. I don't know why." Prue put her arm around her daughter, and smiled at her. This seemed to give Lydia strength, and she continued.

"And everything went on like this for about fourteen years. Michelle was eighteen, I was seventeen, Felicity and Zack were fourteen and Isabelle was fourteen when it happened. Jess, Lloyd, Felicity and Zack were going shopping, and they were in a car crash. Felicity and Lloyd were killed straight away, and Zack died in the ambulance…" She wiped her eyes. "Sorry, it's only been three months, it's still hard." 

"That's okay," Andy said, softly. "You don't have to go on, not if you don't want to."

"I have to." She paused. "Jess died a week later in hospital – Michelle and I were there with her. So, when Jess had died, us three went to stay with her aunt for a few weeks. Eventually, she said…" She thought about how to put this. She told it exactly as it was. "She told us to find our own families. Michelle doesn't have any parents, but Isabelle knew where her mom lived. She went to stay with her. Michelle got her own apartment with her boyfriend, and I wanted to find you. So I did."

Prue remained silent after Lydia finished her story. She didn't know what to say. She didn't really want Lydia back in her life, but she couldn't just ignore the girl that had been through all of that. Especially when that girl was her daughter. "I'm sorry," she said, squeezing Lydia's shoulder.

"Hey, guys!" came the smiling voice of Andy's best friend, Kyle Gregory. He walked in, smiling. "Hey… who's the hot chick?" he asked, referring to Lydia. She blushed, and looked at her mother for help. 

"M-my daughter," Prue confessed, in little more than a whisper. "And don't call her a hot chick," she added, warningly.

"You have a daughter?" asked Kyle, shocked. 

"Who's a got a daughter?" asked an attractive fair-haired woman, walking through the door at that moment. "If you mean Leo and Piper, we all know about that." She paused as she spotted Lydia. "Holy mother of God, who's that?"

"Prue's daughter," Kyle informed her, and immediately went back into his shocked position. 

"You have a daughter?" asked the blonde.

"Yes, her name is Lydia and she's eighteen, Olivia," Prue sighed.

Olivia looked as shocked as Kyle. "When? Where? How?"

"How?" Andy repeated, bemused.

"It fits," Olivia told him. "But, seriously, Prue, when did you have a daughter?"

"Eighteen years today," Lydia spoke for the first time. 

"But you were only – young then," Kyle finished, after trying to take eighteen away from thirty-one and failing miserably.

"Fourteen," Prue supplied. 

"You go, slut," Olivia cheered.

"I was not a slut," Prue insisted. "I was raped, actually."

"Oh, God," Olivia muttered. "By who?"

There was an awkward silence. "I-I don't know," Prue said, finally. "So, this is Lydia, what did you want?"

"Breakfast!" Kyle announced, gleefully. He moved towards the fridge as Phoebe, Piper, Leo and Krissy entered.

"Hi guys, Lydia," Piper greeted them.

Lydia found it hard not to utter a cry of, "You're my sister," but she held it in. She gave a small "Hi," and left it at that.

"I'm Piper Williamson," said the owner of the name to Lydia. "This is my husband Leo, and this is our daughter, Krissy Halliwell."

"I-I know," Lydia told her. "Mo-" Should she call her Prue or Mom? She paused. "They told me. And Phoebe is my aunt, right?"

"Uh-huh that's me," Phoebe nodded. "And this is Kyle Gregory," she pointed to the man eating. "And Olivia Allan," she added, nodding at the blonde lady. "So," she began, in a confidential tone, "What do you think of your mom?"

"She's lovely," Lydia said, smiling. "I'm really glad I met her." She hesitated. "But – she doesn't really want to know me."

"Oh, honey, no!" cried Piper. "It's just – you bring back bad memories for her. When she had you, her life was awful. When she gave you away, she began a whole new life, and now her old life has come back."

"Oh," Lydia said. "So, does that mean that she wants me or not?"

"I think she wants you more than she's letting on," Piper thought aloud. "I mean – I was there when you were born. Well, not when you were actually born, but I saw how unhappy she was when she gave you away. She said she didn't want you, but she was so miserable. And she's always wanted a child. When Krissy was born she was green with envy. She was begging Andy for her own."

"I need to talk to her." Lydia stood up, and went over to Prue.

"P-Prue," she began. "I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Prue asked. 

"Do you love me?" asked Lydia, worried.

"I-I, I guess," Prue faltered. "No, wait. I don't guess. I've only known you one day, but I think you're pretty great. And I'm going to try and forget what happened when you were born, and I'm going to try and love you."

Lydia felt a huge smile growing on her face. A smile that was mirrored on her mom's face. The mother and daughter fell into a hug, laughing and crying at the same time. Lydia said those words that she had longed to say since she was little.

"I love you, Mom."

That one's done then. I know it was only three parts, but I liked it.


	4. Epilogue

Loving Lydia, Epilogue 

Three weeks after Lydia's arrival, she, Prue and Andy were beginning to feel like a family. Prue had grown to love her daughter, and Andy thought of Lydia as his daughter as well.

Lydia couldn't help but think about telling her Piper the truth. It went without saying that the two sisters had grown quite close, even though one of them didn't know that they were sisters. Everyone (apart from Lydia, Prue and Andy) just believed that they were close because Piper was Prue's best friend. 

One day, as Piper, Prue and Lydia were chatting in P3, Piper made a startling announcement. 

"Daddy's coming to stay with Leo and I for a few days," she calmly told them. 

Prue gasped, and Lydia went white. "Oh, when?" Prue tried to keep her voice calm.

"Tomorrow," Piper said, smiling. She loved her father, even if he didn't like her choice of boyfriends.

"Oh, well, never mind," Lydia gabbled. "We can't see him, coz Mom and Andy and me – are, uh, going away for the weekend, right Mom?"

Prue nodded. "Thanks," she mouthed, so that Piper couldn't see her. "Yeah, I'd forgotten to tell you," she added, out loud. "I, uh, have to get back now, because we haven't packed yet, have we, Lydia?"

"N-no," Lydia agreed. "Come on, bye Pipe, see ya soon. Oh, and say hi to Leo and Krissy for us." She grabbed her mother's hand, and they raced out of Central Perk.

As they were running to the manor, Prue smiled gratefully at her daughter. "Thanks, Lydia," she said. "You saved my sanity there."

"No problem," Lydia replied. "I don't want to meet my rapist father, either, you know."

Prue sighed and opened the door of the manor. "I forgot that this was hard for you," she said. "I've been so wrapped up in myself that I forgot that you've met a whole new family." She paused. "Now let's tell Andy that we're going away for the weekend."

"We're what?" asked Andy. He put his arm around Prue and smiled at his stepdaughter. "Hello, children," he added.

"Children?" repeated Lydia. She hadn't heard him use that statement before.

"Oh, ignore him," Prue told her. She turned to face her husband. "We have to go away for the weekend." As Andy's face broke into a dirty smile, she glared at him. "With Lydia," she added. His face changed from gleeful to disgusted.

"What kind of a mother are you?" he asked, jokingly.

"I mean, Dr Williamson is coming to stay with Leo and Piper, and Lydia had the bright idea of escaping and going to stay somewhere." She wasn't being sarcastic.

"Dr Williamson?" Andy repeated, panicking.

"No, sweetie, it's okay, because Lydia got us out of it, so don't worry." They both smiled at Lydia, and Andy put one arm around her. 

"So, where are we going?" asked Lydia.

"Anywhere," replied Andy. "Anywhere to get my girls away from Doctor Williamson."

"How about… Oh, I know," Prue exclaimed. "Atlantic City."

"Yeah, okay," Andy agreed.

"Cool, I've never been there," Lydia laughed. "Wow, this family thing is great!" Her parents laughed along with her.

* * *

Three days later, Prue, Andy and Lydia arrived back from Atlantic City, each feeling very happy. They unpacked and then went to P3, to meet their friends.

"Hey, guys," Lydia called out, running to meet her new friends. "Kyle, Olivia, Phoebe Piper, Leo, Krissy…" she paused, as a new person caught her eye. "D-Dr Williamson?"

Everyone greeted the little family, apart from Dr Williamson, who smiled at Andy, and looked worriedly at Prue.

"Prue, go home," Andy hissed. "Take Lydia."

"We have to go," Prue stammered. 

Lydia intervened. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt by her father. "Bye, guys. Piper, come back with us, we've missed Krissy, we want to see her. Oh, Pheebs, Ollie, do you wanna come too?"

Piper looked at her a little oddly, but she got up, Phoebe and Olivia didn't seem to notice the anxiety in Lydia's voice. The girls got up and left, while Andy went to sit down – as far away from his wife's attacker as possible.

Back in the apartment, Piper looked oddly at Prue. "Prue, what was that about? Lydia?"

Mother and daughter exchanged a look. "We should tell," Lydia insisted. "It's not just your secret anymore. Krissy could be in danger."

"Krissy?" Piper exclaimed. "Krissy? What's the matter? Tell me, you have to tell me!"

"Okay," Prue sighed. "You know how, uh, when I got pregnant with Lydia, I didn't want to sleep with anyone…"

"She was raped," Phoebe interrupted, bluntly.

"Thank you," Prue said, sarcastically. Phoebe nodded, not noticing the sarcasm. 

"Well," Prue continued. "I knew who attacked me. A-and, only Andy and Lydia know who it was – oh, and the attacker. And I have to tell you, especially Piper, because-because…"

"Because it was my dad," Piper said, blankly. "My dad raped you." Prue nodded.

"Wow," Olivia breathed. "This is better than a soap opera. I knew Prue had some shady secret, of course, and I knew Dr Williamson might as well have been called Dr Evil… but still… I never guessed that those things were linked!"

"I can't believe it," Piper whispered. "My dad – my sister?" she asked, indicating Lydia, who nodded. 

"Yep," Prue muttered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she added. "I-I don't want to make things hard for you, Pipe."

"No, no, I asked." Piper shook her head. "Wow, my dad – and he's a rapist. He caused Lydia. He-he was the reason you were so sad all those years, Prue. Why didn't you hate me?"

"Because it wasn't you," Prue told her, simply. "You didn't rape me – and if you did, Lydia wouldn't be here," she quipped.

"Oh no," Phoebe said. "Don't joke now."

"I-I have to see him," Piper said, standing up. "Look after Krissy, and don't come down to Central Perk."

"Oh no," Phoebe repeated. "I'm following her," she decided, as the door closed. Ignoring Lydia's protests, she and Olivia walked out of the door.

* * *

The whole gang was sitting around the manor. "I can't believe you slapped him," Olivia giggled, referring to how Piper had dealt with her father.

"I can't believe that you screamed that he was a lying paedophile rapist," Andy laughed.

"I can't believe my big sister never told me who raped her," Phoebe said.

"I can't believe you chose me over your family," Prue smiled, and hugged Piper.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked. "You and Lydia are two of my best friends, and I'm not going to let that go." Lydia felt tears run down her cheek, and she joined in the hug.

"Wow," Kyle breathed, sounding happy. 

"What?" asked Leo.

"Piper looks so hot when she's angry," Kyle smirked, giggling like a naughty schoolboy.

There we are, you wanted an epilogue, and you got one.


End file.
